Desktop Computer - To good to be true?

[Finner]

Hey guys,

I've been looking around for a new gaming desktop recently. I was browsing ebay and noticed this listing:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/INTEL-CORE-2-QX67...QQcmdZViewItem

This price ($1263) for what it WAY WAY WAY better then any other place i've looked (www.ncix.com, dell, memory express).

How is this system this cheap?

Thanks for any insight.

[ricosuave]

Its a good price, but I would be worried about warranty issues.

[Dan02]

If you're not going for your standard cheapo computer, I would think you should really put your own together.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Dan02

If you're not going for your standard cheapo computer, I would think you should really put your own together.

Umm, the QX6700 CPU itself costs $1149 by itself at Memory Express. That's a bloody excellent price considering all the other stuff you get (8GB of RAM??!!!)

You could never put your own together at that price. I don't know what's up with this.

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Umm, the QX6700 CPU itself costs $1149 by itself at Memory Express. That's a bloody excellent price considering all the other stuff you get (8GB of RAM??!!!)

Well the same CPU as the one listed in that listing sold for only 463$ on ebay.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Dan02

If you're not going for your standard cheapo computer, I would think you should really put your own together.

Yeah if you go to the NCIX sales page you should be able to put together a good gaming desktop for $1200 or less.

That's a good processor in that link but it's not 10.6 GHz, it's 2.66 with four cores and you can't just multiply it by four and come out with 10.66. I'd get an e8400 dual core for gaming.
The video card in that rig is fine for everyday use but it's poor for gaming. Look for an 8800 GT or 9600 GTS.

[SebC]

• WE PROTECT YOUR PROCESSOR BY USING GENUINE INTEL HEAVY DUTY COOLING FAN!

LOL. Stock coolers suck. Still though, that's dirt cheap. I don't know how it's that cheap.

[psicodude]

If it sounds too good to be true....

I have no clue how they can be making any money at that price. Most places like NCIX or Memory Express are happy with a 5% profit margin on computer parts, but even taking 10% off their prices still puts them a few hundred higher than this place. The 10.66 GHZ thing seems really fishy as well. I mean, who does that?

On the other hand, they have thousands of positive feedback.

[Finner]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Umm, the QX6700 CPU itself costs $1149 by itself at Memory Express. That's a bloody excellent price considering all the other stuff you get (8GB of RAM??!!!)

You could never put your own together at that price. I don't know what's up with this.

Thats what i was thinking too.

In terms of putting together my own, i suppose i could, but the price here would be basically impossible to match as far as i can tell.

and 8GB of RAM is just freaking nuts.

The video card i can update if i want to for an extra couple hundred right off the ebay store, and i would put in a better fan then the stock.

Why is a duel better then quad for gaming? Just higher processor speed or what? I read some reviews and it said the quad extreme was basically the best processor you could buy.

The computer wouldn't be specifically for gaming...i just want something that could run SC2, maybe age of conan, Spore, and sims 3 for example.

Keep the opinons and or ideas coming. Thanks so much everyone.

[Finner]

Originally Posted by psicodude

If it sounds too good to be true....

I have no clue how they can be making any money at that price. Most places like NCIX or Memory Express are happy with a 5% profit margin on computer parts, but even taking 10% off their prices still puts them a few hundred higher than this place. The 10.66 GHZ thing seems really fishy as well. I mean, who does that?

On the other hand, they have thousands of positive feedback.

I was thinking that too. The 10.66 did seem odd. But like you said, the feedback is great from them.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Finner

Why is a duel better then quad for gaming? Just higher processor speed or what?

That's it right there. Higher clock speed, since very few games will use multicore anyways. Actually true for most other applications as well. That said, many games aren't CPU dependent anyways (but not all - notable exceptions are Warhammer and Flight Simulator X). They'll be limited by your graphics card.

I went with the quad because I figured if something will only use dual core, I'm only slightly slower, but things that actually use the quad will go way faster. And it's a bit more future proof. I've heard that people won't design for quads for ages, but it's already started with Supreme Commander / Photoshop CS3.

[ericschand]

Negatives:
If it's too good to be true, it probably is.
Also, why is all the feedback by the same people, over and over?
5 or 6 feedbacks (positive) for each user??
No PayPal for Canadian buyers, cheque or money order.

Positives:
He ships to Canada via USPS (ie. no UPS)
He gives a phone number: 866-810-3808, try it
Page seems too complicated and detailed for someone trying to scam money

Seems to me you can build this system for around $1500 or so by
buying parts in Calgary, less if you are patient enough.

ers

[BlackEleven]

Thanks for the link, just used the Buy It Now button!!


Kidding, of course

[CubicleGeek]

The QX6700 sells for as low as $400 from some US vendors, so I imagine it's even cheaper if purchased in volume. Prices are coming down due to the arrival of the QX/Q 9xxx series processors. It takes a little while for prices to adjust in Canada.

You'll be better off waiting for a Q9xxx processor that runs natively at 2.66GHz (or higher) @ a faster bus and lower multiplier. All you're really getting with an extreme processor is an unlocked multiplier which will allow you to overclock not only the FSB, but also the clock multiplier on the chip. There is really no point getting an old extreme processor if there is a similarly priced non-extreme solution that runs faster at it's native clock speed.